


Patient Heart

by horseschool



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Jearmin - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-21 22:05:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1565651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horseschool/pseuds/horseschool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin Arlert has cystic fibrosis, a disease that clogs your intestines. He has to lug around an oxygen tank with him along with oxygen tubing that goes into his nose. Most people avoid due to the fact of his illness. But, one day a new kid comes to the school named Jean. Armin, never really being shy, decides to welcome him. Not having much of any friends, Jean sticks with Armin despite his sickness. They form an unbreakable bond until Armin has to confess two very important things to his friend: matter of love and matter of death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jean was thinking how large this school was compared to his last school, despite the small town. Previously, he attended a school that his mom deemed as "falling apart". It was a small school with a mere 500 people that had hardly any class selection. Even though he begged his mom not to take him away from his friends, they moved three cities away. 

Jean now walked down the upper hallway of his new school, looking for his locker. He got to the end of the line of lockers to find the numbers ended before he could find his locker. It must be somewhere else. 

As he turned around, he cursed his mom for sending him to a school that required him to actually go on a hunt for his locker. This place seemed incorrectly built in a way that the lockers somewhat didn't go in order. 

There was a sign that read classrooms 210-235 were on the right. The slip said his locker was near room 251. 

Groaning, he went down the hallway to see if he could find a hall that would take him to his locker. He was met with disappointment when the left of the hallway was an exit. 

There were fifteen minutes until he had to go to class and that wouldn't be any good if he couldn't find his locker. He thought to himself that he should have gone with his mom to put his books in his locker. If he did that he would have an idea where his locker was. 

Ending back at the middle square of the school, he tapped his hands on the railing, searching for a hallway that would have room 251 in it. Most of the students were below him, chatting away in the lunch room. He surveyed them from above making assumptions about them from their actions. 

There was a small tap on his shoulder, which pulled his attention away from the crowd. Jean turned to see another boy. Another boy who has oxygen tubes going into his nose that connected to a personalized oxygen tank that he pulled with him. His eyes were bright blue that bored into his own. 

"Hi!" A shy smile spread across the boy's face.

"Hello," Jean nodded at him, a bit startled by the vague excitement in the boy's eyes.

The boy moved his blond hair away from his eyes before holding his hand out to Jean, "I'm Armin." 

Jean stared at his nimble hand before taking it in his own. Armin's hand was cold, which urged Jean to pull his hand away a bit quickly, "I'm Jean." 

Armin pointed at the slip of paper in Jean's hand, "do you need help finding your classes?" 

Jean was prepared to deny his offer before he remembered he couldn't find his locker. Armin read his expression because he reached for Jean's schedule. 

He allowed him to take it before he explained his predicament, "well, I'm used to a small school and I can't seem to find my locker." 

The blond boy pressed his lips together, holding his laugh back, "okay, well it says your locker is near room 251..." 

"Yeah, exactly! I can't find it," Jean ran his hair through his undercut awkwardly. 

"... Which is downstairs," Armin was still trying to hold his laugh back once Jean's eyes widened. 

He made an o shape with his mouth, "I knew that." 

That time Armin laughed, covering his smile with his hand. He waved his hand, suggesting Jean to follow him. Doing so, Jean nearly tripped over his own feet as he started after Armin. He sighed from relief that nobody had seen him before they trotted down the stairs.

Jean followed Armin, who wheeled his electric blue oxygen tank with him. He wasn't sure what Armin had that made him carry that, but he didn't know how to ask without sounding rude. He'd never seen someone with tubes like that in their nose besides some elderly people in the hospital his mom works at. 

A few people were looking at them strangely. Well, they were more staring at Armin. He did look sickly, as he glanced at him from the side. His eyes stood out from the rest of his face because he was overly pale. The dark bags weren't exactly complementing his eyes, but that was only if you really looked at him. 

Jean peeled his eyes away from him because he felt like he was becoming one of those people on the sides. Those types of people Armin has probably dealt with since he got whatever he got. The kids stare on sidelines, pushing the stared to become self conscious. 

Armin took him to a hallway labeled rooms 245-255. Inwardly, Jean sighed happily that he was able to find someone who could show him the way. He didn't even plan to look for his locker downstairs. 

"What's your locker number?" Armin looked up at Jean as they came up towards room 251. 

Jean looked down at his slip and read the number off, "1198."

"Oh, you aren't too far from my locker," Armin grinned at his feet.

"What's your locker number?" Jean watched as they passed room 250. 

Armin stopped abruptly, reading the numbers of the lockers, before walking over to the locker right next to the door of room 251, "this is your locker. Mine is about ten feet down, 1207." 

"Oh hey, thanks," Jean quickly spun the lock before he opened the locker to see the stuff he previously bought for school. 

Armin nodded, his eyes as wide as before giving him a constant curious look, "of course. Hopefully we have some classes together." 

"Mhm," Jean pulled out his books before he shut and locked his locker. 

Armin pressed his lips together once again, looking at the handle on his tank, "do you need help finding your classes?" The hopeful look returned to his face. 

Jean shook his head, trying not to shoot him down so hard, "I already know where my classes are but thanks anyway." 

Armin smiled at him and nodded, "right, sorry," he cleared his throat before precipitously turning around and making way down the hall. 

It was like a pin popped his heart when Jean realized he must have hurt Armin by being so quick to get rid of him. It wasn't like he was trying though, he was just being honest. 

The wheel of Armin's oxygen tank squeaked as he rushed down the hall and out of sight before the first bell rang. Jean hurried to his first class so he could introduce himself to the teacher before the rest of the kids got there. If he got there later than the teacher would most likely have to introduce himself to the whole class and that was something he wanted to avoid.

Once he arrived in the classroom, he saw there were only a few kids in there but also no teacher. He grabbed a seat towards the back, dropping his books on his desktop. The few kids gave Jean a look trying to decide who he was. 

After the second bell rang, the room was filled with kids, but the teacher still wasn't there. There were a few minutes before the teacher finally did make it in. He apologized for being late and scanned the classroom. His eyes fell on me and he smiled. 

"You must be Gene Kirstin!" The teacher exclaimed causing Jean to cringe at the mispronunciation of his name. 

"Jean Kirschtein," he corrected, a sour smile on his face. 

"Oh, right! My apologies," He nodded, "You can call me Mr. Hannes. Class, this is Jean Kirschtein, he's new. Make him feel at home." 

A few kids said hello to Jean before Hannes started up class. Considering the class was already into something, Hannes just gave Jean busy work-or what he called as something to "see where he's at". 

The class was over soon enough and Jean found himself in the confusing halls once again. Because it was his first day, Jean figured most of his classes would be the same. Either they wouldn't give him anything to do and he would sit, bored, or they would give him busy work. 

"Jean!" A named echoed across the walls and quickly grabbed his attention. 

Behind him, he saw Mr. Hannes running towards him with a smile on his face that made him look half drunk. Once Mr. Hannes reached Jean, he handed him a book that read "Geometry". 

Hannes panted from his short-lived run, "I forgot to give this to you. It's your Geometry text book." 

"Thanks," Jean nodded before turning around and continuing his walk to his next class. 

Before Jean could get away, the excited teacher grabbed his shoulder with a firm grip, forcing him to turn around, "do you need any help getting to your classes? I could assign you a student to stay with you for the day so you can get settled!" 

As Jean started shaking his head, Mr. Hannes pulled him back towards his classroom.

He could tell this teacher would be bothersome. For some reason Mr.Hannes couldn't speak without breathing right in your face. From what he heard, Geometry was the lowest class he taught. The rest of his classes were supposedly calculus, and AP calculus. This guy didn't even seem like the type to teach math. He seemed like the type of teacher who taught health and told inappropriate jokes. Math seemed very out of character. 

Once they reached his classroom, Mr. Hannes surveyed the class, most likely picking someone out. The bell rang and Jean was filled with uncomfort of the feeling of not being in his next class. Being late on his first day wasn't exactly the type of impression he wanted to leave on his teachers.

Something caught Jean's eye in the front row of the class. It was that electric blue color he remembered from before. There, Armin sat in the front row, hands folded in his lap. When Jean looked at him, he watched as Armin's eyes quickly moved to look at Mr. Hannes. He's a sophomore in AP calculus; he must be extremely intelligent. 

"Alright! We have a new student! I need someone to volunteer to show him where to go. I will contact the office and you'll get out of your classes for the day," Mr. Hannes bellowed, a huge grin plastered on his face. 

Jean's throat tightened from the attention and he tried his best to keep his cool and prevent the redness from creeping up on his face, "This really wasn't necessary, Mr Hannes." 

"Nonsense! Who will volunteer?" His eyes reverted back to the class as they fidgeted in their seats, "Oh come on! You get out of your classes!" 

Jean knew the redness was no longer hidden and he just wanted to leave and get to his next class. His eyebrows furrowed as he glared at the ground, obviously uncomfortable. Armin's oxygen tank squeaked as he solemnly stood up, approaching Jean and Mr. Hannes. 

"I can do it. Will the homework be on the school website?" His confident, yet quiet voice broke the silence of the uninterested classroom. 

Mr. Hannes sighed, happily, "Of course. Thank you, Armin. You'll get five extra credit points for being brave enough to volunteer." 

"That's not necessary, but thanks," Armin rejected his offer. 

"Well, you two can go. I'll call the office and let them know." He shooed them out of the classroom and they were soon out of the awkward atmosphere. 

But, they were soon overwhelmed with a bran new awkward atmosphere. Not the type that makes your face redden, but the type that makes you want to just run away. Armin seemed very unphased from the feeling. Maybe it was just Jean. 

"So, I hope I didn't scare you this morning. You can tell me if I did because I know I do it to a lot of people," Armin sighed, blowing his blond locks away from his forehead. 

Jean shook his head, "no I guess it was pretty rude of me to run off like that when you'd been all nice to me."

"I guess I get all weird when I come across really appealing people," Jean's throat tightened as Armin's confident voice wrapped around him. 

"Appealing?" His eyes were wide like a cat's as he searched Armin's face for an explanation. 

Armin smiled at him, "yeah." 

"What do you mean by appealing?" Jean continued to heat Armin with the same question. 

Armin only laughed at his need to know, "I don't know. There's just something about you that's appealing." 

Jean was stuttering now as if he didn't know how to react. It's not like Armin said he thought he was  _attractive_. Maybe he just thought he had a good personality. Internally, Jean smacked himself in the face for even bothering with that option. 

"Jean, don't overthink it. This is your next class. Woodshop?" Armin looked up at him to confirm this was the course he had chosen. 

Clearing his throat, Jean nodded, "yeah, I like to... build stuff," He was at a loss with words which only made Armin giggle. 

As Jean walked into the room, he noticed all the kids in the shop already working on something. Their eyes flew over to him; a new face. The teacher introduced himself before explaining that the kids just started the project yesterday, so he would be able to join in. Armin nodded at him, suggesting it was okay to go work. 

As Jean was getting ready to make a plan of what kind of gun rack he would make, he heard the familiar squeaking of an oxygen tank. He turned to see the blond walking out the door. Jean was slightly confused as to why he was leaving. Mr. Hannes said he wanted Armin to stay with him all day. That would mean Jean's classes, too. Jean knew where his classes were, but it was nice having someone with me who I could actually get into some conversation with. Despite the nice hellos and welcome to our schools from other kids, it didn't feel as at home as it did with Armin. 

On that note, Jean caught up to the small boy and grabbed his arm, "Wait, aren't you supposed to stay with me?" 

Armin looked up at him with surprise, "uh, yeah sorry. I have to go to the health room. I'll be back in a few minutes. You'll be okay, won't you?" 

Jean suddenly felt like an idiot and an asshole for insisting Armin to stay with him. He had a health problem. 

"Right! I'll be fine. You go!" Jean exclaimed, backing up back into the workshop, feeling like a selfish idiot. 

"You sure?" Armin's face was full of humbleness. 

Jean just wanted to take advantage of that and make him stay; being, he's his only friend. But, he nodded, and Armin left, leaving Jean to go back to his table. To his annoyance, the only thing he could really concentrate on was that pure face and his longing to take care of it. 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

It was a good half an hour before Armin finally showed up. Jean was worried he wouldn't come back and then he wouldn't be able to find Jean when he went to his next class. It would mess everything up. Luckily, he showed up a couple minutes before the bell finally rung. Armin lead Jean to his next class which was, of course, no different than he had expected. It was Sophomore Literature to which he was quickly handed busy work.  Jean couldn't help but want to ask Armin why he needed to go to the health room. Was that a daily thing or did he just not feel okay? Jean was annoyed with himself for being so worried about somebody he just met but, he just couldn't help it. 

"Jean, are you okay? You look really conflicted and you haven't written a single answer," Armin gently rested his hand on Jean's elbow, worry scribbled across his delicate features.

Coming back into focus, he realized he'd spent almost half the hour staring at his paper, "I'm fine! I'm just tired."

 

"Do you need help with the worksheet? It's just reading skills. I mean I'm not that good at it, but I can try," Jean's chest squeezed at his modesty. 

 Jean shook his head, "no I'm fine, but thanks." 

He then reverted his attention back to the page before Armin's stare really got to him. Every now and then he felt Armin's eyes graze him. Though he knew his mom wouldn't approve, all he wanted was to give Armin a huge bear hug for being so nice. Jean had a few friends back at his old school, but, there was only one he truly felt he would keep contact with. His name was Marco. Though Marco was a pretty big teddy bear, Armin was different. He was more like a baby bunny who needed 24/7 care and attention. That's the feeling Jean was getting. He wanted to smother this boy in attention. Baby bunnies need to be cared for and nourished. A little white bunny that would hop around, hoping to be pet and played with. Jean felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lip from the thought of bunny Armin. 

"Jean," The soft voice whispered, mildly confused. 

Swallowing, Jean looked over to him, "yeah?" 

"How come you're drawing a bunny?" His eyes were trained on Jean's doodle.  

Like a fire, Jean's face lit up, "Uh, I just like bunnies..." 

"He looks cute. 'Help me Jean'?" There was this look of innocence on Armin's face that only made Jean think he was teasing him in his own way. 

To Jean's dismay, he was doodling while daydreaming. The small rabbit he drew had big eyes and a speech bubble that read "help me, Jean". This was the most embarrassed Jean had felt in a long time. 

"Um, yeah, it's a thing. I don't know," Jean scratched the back of his neck trying to play it cool. 

"A thing? What thing?" Armin was growing suspicious. 

Coughing awkwardly, Jean scribbled out the drawing, "just a thing." 

Armin's eyes squinted a bit before he nodded, understanding Jean probably wouldn't tell him. 

The half scribbled out drawing of the bunny mocked Jean. It laughed at his red face and poor excuses. Pushing away everything else, Jean concentrated on filling out the sheet, ignoring the taunting rabbit. 

* * *

 

A few people had invited Jean to sit with them at lunch, but he turned down every offer. Even though he  _had_ to eat lunch with Armin, he couldn't help but  _want_ to. It turned out Armin had a strong sense of humor. What he also had were strong opinions and high intelligence. During Jean's Literature and Sociology class, Armin would raise his hand for every question the teacher asked, even though it wasn't his class. He answered questions that nobody else seemed to understand, even after he said it. I guess it suited him. A smart bunny who needed bear hugs. 

They sat next to each other on a bench while they ate their lunch. Jean had to go through the hot lunch line alone because Armin brought a cold lunch. He spoke about how his mom made lunches that the school could never compete with. Jean believed him, considering it was cafeteria food.

"So are you gonna tell me what that doodle was about?" Armin elbowed Jean before taking a bite of his sandwich. 

"I already told you it was nothing," Jean shook his head, a smile forming on his face. 

Armin pressed his lips together, obviously holding a laugh back, "I guess I'll just have to call you bunny boy from now on." 

"No, that's you." Jean laughed, but soon realized he had let it slip. 

Armin noticed, "me?" 

"Uh wait, no, that's not what I meant," Jean smirked, scratching his neck. 

"Liar!" Armin slapped his hand on the bench, eyes boring into Jean's. 

Jean was at a loss of words. Despite his dark circles, Armin's eyes were absolutely memorizing. 

"Tell me!" Armin scooted closer as if he knew it was making Jean nervous. 

He sensed he had this power over Jean. No matter how hard he tried to play cool, his awkward side found a way to shine through. But, the comforting thing was Armin seemed 100% okay with it. 

"I just like bunnies," Jean shrugged, swallowing the food he had forgotten to swallow prior to Armin catching him in a lie. 

"Jean, you have a tell. I know you're lying. Tell me why you drew the picture!" Jean was shocked at how quickly he picked up on his lies. 

"What's my tell?" Jean narrowed his eyes down at Armin. 

A laugh crusaded out of Armin's mouth, "I'm not telling unless you tell me." 

Jean groaned, "Why do you care so much? It was just a doodle!" 

Armin looked caught off guard before he retorted, "Well, you said I was a bunny and I want to know why."

"You would laugh if I told you," A nervous chuckle was forced out of Jean's lips.

"No, I won't! I pinky promise," The boy held his finger out for Jean, who, reluctantly, wrapped his own around it. 

Jean's head tilted back before he groaned, "well, I guess I just think you look like a bunny is all." 

The tint returned to Jean's face as he rubbed the back of his neck. Telling another boy he thought of him as a bunny wasn't the most casual thing Jean has ever done. Armin hasn't said anything since Jean fessed up to his drawing. He was almost ready to get up and walk away just to savor some of his pride before he heard the blond hum. 

"I'll take it as a compliment," He had a satisfied look on his face as he continued to eat his lunch, "your tell is that you scratch your neck and break eye contact." 

"Oh," Jean nodded, glad Armin didn't make a big deal out of it. 

As the sick boy finished his lunch, he stood up, "if it makes you feel any better, I think you look like a horse," he had a sarcastic grin on his face before he wheeled the oxygen tank with him to throw his trash away. 

"No, that doesn't make me feel better!" Jean took offense to the remark only making Armin laugh. 

The bell rang momentarily and Armin lead Jean to his next class. He couldn't help but wonder why people were so afraid to speak to Armin. He was just like any other person. It annoyed Jean with the way some of the kids stared at Armin like a zoo animal. He thought that he was far from a zoo animal. Armin was a sweet, little, bunny.

Jean had to clear his throat at that thought, his mind getting cluttered with images of bunny-Armin once again. It was hard to push that thought away. Armin has been just so small and helpful and, well, cute, or so what Jean thought.

Suddenly, a harsh pain coursed through Jean's body before he realized he had zoned out and ended up walking straight into a beam. Armin was trying to hold his laughter back as Jean stumbled backwards, regaining focus. He's always been pretty clumsy, but not enough to walk straight into a wall. 

"Walk much?" Armin teased him making Jean squint back.  

"Ha ha," Jean rolled his eyes, fixing his shirt. 

"Daydream about something nice?" Armin nodded, an all knowing grin on his face. 

"Shut up," Jean rubbed his forehead.

Armin laughed before the two attended the rest of Jean's classes, soon saying their goodbyes as they ventured back home for a night's rest. 

Jean lied in bed, unable to shake the image of bunny Armin out of his head. Slowly, he fell asleep to the comforting thought. 

Armin lied in his own bed, thinking of his new friend and how much he enjoyed today's outcome. He was proud of himself for being brave enough to greet the new kid. 


End file.
